01/12/12 Old Man Winter Returns...

Snow blankets the horizon at the apartment
complex providing a winter scene here in Peoria, IL

A little over a week ago, we officially received our first accumulating snow in Peoria, IL which was long overdue to say the least. We received a solid 4" inches here on the northwest-side of Peoria, IL. Other snowfall reports around the area can be found here from the ILX SWOP network. This wasn't a huge snowstorm, but the first decent snowfall of the year in this area as it has been a very warm winter in central Illinois. A radar loop of the winter storm system can be found here (large-file) from DVN. It will take a few minutes for that loop to load so I recommend opening it in a new window if you haven't already. Anyhow, I didn't find much to take photos of, but I managed as best as I could. This storm allowed me to test out my GoPro array of cameras for this spring. I have a total of three of them and another more "interesting" camera and setup slated to arrive in late-February just in time for the spring season. I've upgraded a lot of technology over the last few months in preparation for the upcoming spring season. This storm chaser and photographer loves his "toys"! I've added a few photos of the first winter storm of the season as well as some video below:

Starting to get into a habit of shooting
more night photography...

Animated .gif of a couple of my stills...(above)

The start of the storm (powdery snow here)

Another shot here as most of the snow had
been blown around already...

Construction around this complex
has been ridiculous recently...

Day...

To night...

Cool perspective here...

The beauty of a wide-angle lens!

A mess around these parts "construction-wise"...

A horse trailer amidst the snow...

Initial snow accumulation of the
snow on the deck... 

 

I've added a YouTube clip from my GoPro (above)...

That will wrap up this post. The 2012 tornado season already kicked off in the Deep South with several confirmed tornadoes across that region on January 22, 2011. Just the beginning to what may be another interesting severe weather season that will only start to ramp up over the next few months...

01/11/12 Thunder: Once Again...

Thunder, my kitten enjoying a winter afternoon
at my apartment in Peoria, IL

A little over a week ago, I shot some more photos of my kitten: Thunder. I had nothing really planned on this afternoon as I was beginning to prepare for our area's first snowstorm here in central Illinois that was slated to arrive the following day. A boring day was in store for myself so I decided to pull out the camera once again and shoot some more photos of Thunder as he enjoyed the afternoon on my day-off. Here are a handful of photos I've added below:

What an adorable kitten!

A true weather watcher...when he's not at my
desk staring at the animated weather radar he's
looking to the sky a lot like myself...

Yes, he even has his own pillows.
Quite a spoiled kitten!

A great shot here!

Lounging around after some play time...

This cat loves observing nature out my window...

Stay tuned for a future post of some winter photos I shot over the last couple of weeks as we finally got some accumulating snow here in Peoria, IL. Talk about long overdue eh Old Man Winter?!